from the heart of my home

This is a yummy combination of some of my favorite foods. This is comfort food to the max! You don’t want to fix this and forget it as this has a pretty short cooktime, for a crockpot meal.

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

1 can evaporated milk

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1 tsp. onion powder

1/2 cup Velveeta cubed

1 pound diced ham

1 tsp onion powder

2 cups uncooked mini pasta shells

It is very important that you spray the liner of the crockpot liberally with cooking spray. Trust me on this, otherwise, your meal will stick to the edges and be rather disappointing.

Add the above ingredients into the crockpot. Set the crockpot on the lowest setting and cook for 2 hours. Cooking any longer than this will basically make the pasta fall apart. I chose to add about a cup of cooked leftover broccoli pieces right before serving. This is totally optional.

This was surprisingly very tasty! With the limited list of ingredients, I thought it would be rather bland, but they all combined to make a lip-smackingly good dish. This will be made again. I did add one clove of garlic, crushed because I put garlic in nearly everything!

For Ohio State Buckeye football fans, Saturday is THE game of the season. The OSU v. U of Michigan game is a traditional big rival game. Before the BCS came along and changed the way that end-of-season bowl games are done, this was often the game that decided who went to represent the Big Ten Conference in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. It still is often the game that determines the conference champs. Regardless, it is a fun rivalry and one that we celebrate with a big game day party somewhere. Saturday also happens to be my second daughter’s 23rd birthday. We are going to celebrate that too, somewhere in the midst of the football game! Here is one of the dishes I am making for the party. Check here for other game day snacks.

In a crockpot, layer onion, garlic, carrots and celery on the bottom. Add the chicken next then the peppers, beans, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Add spaghetti sauce and water. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until chicken is tender and cooked.

Cook the linguine according to package directions. Serve chicken on top of pasta.

In a shallow bowl, combine flour, salt, mustard and garlic powder; dredge pork chops. In a skillet, brown the chops on both sides in oil. Place in a slow cooker. Combine soup and water; pour over chops. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender. If desired thicken pan juices and serve with the pork chops.

This is an easy and delicious rendition af a classic Italian dish. To make it even easier, you could use a package of frozen peppers and onions in place of the fresh. It really doesn’t change the taste or texture. Don’t omit browning the chicken first. It really does make a difference if you don’t do this. The chicken ends up so tender it falls off the bones. Serve over hot fettucini noodles with a green salad on the side and you have a complete meal.